On Saturday, June 25, 2022, the world lost an outstanding artist and an amazing person. Elena Oskarovna Marttila passed away in a hospital in Kotka, a few months before her 100th birthday. She was born in Petrograd, survived the siege of Leningrad, worked in St. Petersburg and moved to Kotka, her father’s homeland, in the late 1990s. Marttila devoted herself entirely to her craft and continued to create until the last minutes of her life.
This exhibition is dedicated to the memory and artistic legacy of the artist, who has accomplished a long and challenging life path, becoming a participant and witness to many historical events. She first encountered death as a 19-year-old girl in besieged Leningrad. “We became well acquainted”, – recounted Elena.
Fortitude and creativity guided and supported her throughout her life. “We all leave, but our work remains for others,” she liked to repeat.
The legacy and testaments of Elena Oskarovna continue to live in her works. They convey an example of perseverance, loyalty to oneself and one’s vocation, honesty, sincerity and humanity, a call for peace and mutual understanding. “I discovered a need to draw at an early age,” she wrote, “and this call led me, inspired me, gave me strength and helped me survive the terrible days of the Leningrad blockade.
The generations that have come to replace us do not even imagine what we went through. Of course, it’s for the best. But we also have no right to forget what happened – in order to make sure this never happens again. In memory of people who, in agony, remained devoted to common human values and by their example convey the message of perseverance, devotion, love, kindness, compassion and self-sacrifice for the next generations.”
Until the start of perestroika, the works of Elena Marttila dedicated to the siege of Leningrad were not officially exhibited. They contradicted the doctrine of the “Heroic Defense of Leningrad” adopted in the post-war years. Elena Oskarovna was admitted to the Union of Artists of Russia only after she retired, in the 80s.
The life and work of Elena Marttila is a call for the preservation of Truth and Peace, which is especially relevant in our times.
At this exhibition you can get acquainted with the artist’s works, derived using different techniques. They demonstrate Elena’s artistic search and creative achievements.
Fifteen engravings on cardboard and autolithographs of the blockade series, to which Elena devoted most of her life, are complemented by portraits, still life and watercolour monotypes (Elena Oskarovna discovered this technique when residing in Finland).
The exposition is accompanied by excerpts from the artist’s diaries and video materials from Marttila’s personal archive and private collections.
